Jay Steinfeld

Founder and CEO

Jay is the founder and CEO of Blinds.com, the industry leader in online window covering sales that was acquired by The Home Depot in 2014. Jay is a passionate advocate for amazing (and profitable) company culture.

Email: bookjay@blinds.com

As founder and CEO of Blinds.com, Jay was an early mover in e-Commerce, in 1993 bootstrapping his website built in his garage into the world’s #1 online window covering store. In January, 2014, Blinds.com was acquired by The Home Depot. Jay is still active as CEO, driving and integrating the Blinds.com platform into Home Depot’s interconnected retail strategy.

Jay earned a BBA in Accounting with Honors from the University of Texas in Austin, after which he worked for KPMG Peat, Marwick. Jay is a 10-year member of Vistage International, The Houston Technology Center Tech 100, Houston Jewish Community Center board member, American Leadership Forum, and on The XPRIZE Innovation Board.

He is an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and writes for Inc. Magazine a column entitled Chief Effective Officer, about becoming a more effective leader. In 2013, was ranked globally as one of the Top 60 CEO’s on Social Media. Jay is an advocate and frequent speaker on how company culture and authentic core values drive profitable growth.

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Testimonials

Not only did Jay get the highest speaker evaluation of the semester, but when I discussed the semester with the students, he was mentioned by many of them as someone they really enjoyed hearing from. One student even said they'd like to have him as one of their life mentors! I've included some of the feedback I was able to capture from the evaluations below.

"Great speaker. Would like to hear from again."
"Literally the best class ever."
"He was an inspirational and enlightening speaker."
"The presentation was TED Talk material."

There were many other comments along those same lines. I can say without any doubt that this session had a profound impact on the students in my class. Kelly McCormick

Jay was a tremendously engaging and enlightening presenter. He captured the rapt attention of a group of high school students and compelled them to consider entrepreneurship (or really, any professional endeavor) from a holistic perspective – one that emphasizes values, people, and the process rather than solely final metrics. His story resonated with my students – eliciting new lines of inquiry and uncovering new possibilities - and would certainly do the same for any group. It was a real pleasure and opportunity for myself and the students. Aaron Markham

I really enjoyed listening to Mr. Steinfeld and learning the story of his business and his overall approach. It was a great presentation that helped me understand business and entrepreneurship more clearly, especially as it relates to the hard work and dedication necessary for success. It was fascinating to see how clearly he cared about his people and his business and worked tirelessly to make their success happen. Student, Emery Weiner School